For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
by IzzyMorgensternXX
Summary: Set during 3x10. Jasper and Liam race against time to handle Robert's secret as his coronation becomes imminent. Little do they know that they might be setting into place a chain reaction with disastrous consequences. Jasper/Eleanor Robert/Kathryn
1. Chapter 1

_To be, or not to be: that is the question:  
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer  
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,  
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,  
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;  
No more; and by a sleep to say we end  
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks  
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation  
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;  
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;  
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come._

 _Hamlet- William Shakespeare_

It was roughly six am in the morning when James was woken up suddenly again.

This time it wasn't by his phone.

Not even by a cop.

And thank God it wasn't Jasper- or anyone else from the palace for that matter…

Not the source of the wake up call wasn't any of those. Instead it took the form a little elf wearing the elf pyjamas he'd bought her for Christmas and the hat with the bells on it, in her arms she clutched a toy reindeer with abnormally large eyes.

Her expression was miserable and a little afraid, and try as hard as she could to hide it, it was clear she had been crying.

"Daddy," Sarah Alice said quietly, "I'm sorry."

James smiled at his daughter, despite his sleepiness, "It's ok."

Sarah Alice raced towards him as he hugged her.

It had been the same story for a week now. Every morning she'd wake up a good hour and a half before she normally would and tell him she'd had another nightmare.

At first he'd believed her.

But after the third time he'd started to have his doubts.

After all he was a detective, he knew how to read people, and one day- when hopefully his daughter was much much older- Sarah Alice might have boyfriend or girlfriends and that would become a handy skill.

Of course it still was beneficial for understanding when his daughter was lying.

The real reason was easy enough to figure out.

She hadn't seen Jasper in over a week, and then the day before she'd heard that the Princess was planning to leave for six months.

Six months! James thought to himself, that couldn't possibly be allowed, could it? Either way that Prince Sebastian was going to be the first job on his list when he got into work. The Princess was like a daughter to him- and all of his daughters' boyfriends would have to go through clearance protocol to see if they made the grade.

"Will a hot chocolate and pancakes make it better?" James asked. He knew chocolate at breakfast time would make Sarah Alice hyper all morning, but it was the only solution he could think of.

Sarah Alice shook her head, "I miss Jasper Caterpillar."

James sighed. How could he tell her? What was a nice way to say 'your sort-of-ex-boyfriend- sort-of-a-caterpillar friend, nearly got me fired and sent to jail for fifteen years- twice the age you are right now- because, actually, he's not a British orphan but a Las Vegas ex-con man who tried to rob from his other ex-girlfriend and then broke her heart and stole confidential documents to trade with a reporter to save himself.'?

No…

Instead James went with, "He's just been very busy at the moment. Now that King Robert is going to be coronated, there's a lot to organise."

Sarah Alice nodded understanding.

James didn't understand anything. When he fired Jasper he should have known that wouldn't have been the last of him. Robert had asked for him immediately and then Liam only an hour after that. Robert of course, being King, needed a security detail immediately- so Jasper was his, albeit only a temporary basis- there was going to be a meeting to discuss who he'd be assigned to permanently.

James had a feeling it would be Liam, after all Robert and Jasper barely knew each other- and well, they say opposites attract but…

An ex-con man and a straight-laced King didn't exactly scream 'team' to James…

"Could you ask him?" Sarah Alice begged, "Just five minutes. Please."

James smiled, "I'll see what I can do."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

"These ones?" Eleanor asked her bodyguard, "Or these ones?"

She held up two pairs of high heeled shoes- one sparkly and one with tiny silver studs.

"Erm, the black ones?" Rosie replied.

Eleanor raised her eyebrows, "They're both black. Ok, don't worry, I'm probably just projecting my nerves about the coronation onto my wardrobe."

"Your highness?" Rosie asked.

"I said you could me Len," Eleanor reminded her, as she arranged various makeup items on her vanity.

"Len," Rosie replied, "Are you really planning to go away for six months?"

Eleanor bit her lip, feeling guilty. She didn't want to abandon her friend, but she didn't know if Rosie would be allowed to join her. She nodded.

"Does the Queen know?" Rosie asked, "Or your brother, the King?"

Eleanor shook her head, "I don't think now would be the time, they're so busy. I'm so busy. Anyway I pencilled the date in my calendar- three days after the end of the coronation celebrations. So a week from now. Should be plenty of time to sort things out, and Sebastian's arranging transport. And it's not like I need to pack much. I'll be able to buy new stuff once I get out there."

"What's the first stop?" Rosie asked.

"Well first Barcelona," Eleanor admitted excitedly, "Then Corsica, Naples, California, Miami, oh, and Morocco of course."

Rosie smiled, "Sounds amazing."

"I know!" Eleanor beamed excitedly, "And I think it's going to be good for me. So much crazy stuff has happened over the past year. I just need to be able to do normal girl things for once. Like relaxing by the beach, shopping, designing things."

"Getting over ex-boyfriends?" Rosie added on impulse, "I'm so sorry, your highness, I shouldn't have said that."

Eleanor grinned, "It's ok. And yes, of course, Jasper. Good old Jasper. He came to see me a few nights ago. I told him to go away, but I still notice him, lurking in the shadows."

"Do you want me to say something to him?" Rosie asked, "Beat him up for you?"

Eleanor laughed, "No, no, it's fine. My brother, Robert, he used to tell me that time was the best healer. Hopefully with time we'll both get over it. Jasper will move on, it's not like I was his first, and as for me… well… I'll figure it out."

Rosie smiled sadly.

"I'll miss you," Eleanor said, "You're a great bodyguard, and a great friend too. Oh, don't start crying on me now."

Rosie blinked her tears away, grinning, "You're a great friend too, Princess. Even if you are really terrible at poker."

Eleanor smiled, "I'm not that bad, am I?"

Rosie shrugged.

"Oh, thanks a lot!" Eleanor said with a grin, "But anyway, it's only going to be six months, and then I'll be back."

"Six months of Prince Liam though, possibly," Rosie said with a smile.

"Yeah," Eleanor said, "Sorry about that. Now, let's get planning that little surprise. I can't wait when she sees it."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

Sitting at the computer screen in Liam's bedroom reminded him of the time that he'd spent with the young Prince after that infamous birthday party. He'd spent days awake with barely any sleep, but that one time he'd fallen asleep he'd seen her- and she'd slapped him.

Now he wished she would slap him- if only to feel her hand on his cheek again.

If only to get some response other than silence.

He remembered that night vividly. The one she just stared straight ahead, eyes watering as she told him she was moving on and wanted him to leave.

He didn't know who she was trying to convince- him or herself.

Her tone was trying to hard to be steady, her posture was stiff, she didn't dare make eye contact with him.

Jasper might have trust issues. But that was only because he'd grown up around liars.

And of course, growing up around liars meant he had an oppurtunity to see the best at work, and understand them, and their weaknesses.

As for Eleanor Henstridge, well, he needed no special skill or years of training there. She was crap at lying to him.

If he could convince her to just maybe think about it one more time, really get her to look him in the eye. Then he could do it.

"What on earth are you doing in here?" King Robert asked as he spotted Jasper, "Did you forget who your assignment is?"

"No, no, your highness," Jasper said, quickly closing down the computer, "Prince Liam, he thought he'd downloaded a virus or something, wanted me to check it out when I could. I'm sorry."

Robert smiled, "Ah, he's been on those sorts of websites again. Don't worry, Jasper, I'll let it go this time. Now, our schedule today is going to be rather packed- first, I have an interview with Crenshaw, then at twelve I have a working lunch with the anti-monarchists. At two I have my parliamentary speech. At five back here to arrange coronation plans, and then of course at seven I'll be going over to Kay's. Kathryn and Angie are throwing a congratulations party, you're free to join us if you want to. It's just well, Beck's going to be there, and I know you two didn't exactly get along last time you meet."

Jasper nodded, "It's ok, I'm sorry, but I'll have to give it a pass. I'm actually trying to get back into Mr Hill's good books. After nearly getting him arrested. Sarah Alice's birthday is in a little under a week's time. Rosie and I are organising a small party for her."

"Just you and Rosie?" Robert asked, "Not my sister?"

Jasper sighed, "I'm taking your advice, your highness. Giving it some time. I understand the Princess will be going away for some time."

Robert frowned, "Going away? Eleanor didn't mention anything to me?"

Jasper frowned, "It's what she told me. That she was going away to be 'more than just a princess.'"

Robert glanced at his watch, "Well it's ten now. I'll go and talk to her. There's on bloody way she's leaving."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

Liam passed the tablet over to James, who regarded it with a sigh.

"As much as I admire your drive, your highness," James began, "Getting Jasper to work on confidential files behind my back was what got him fired last time around, I don't think encouraging the same behaviour again is anyone's interests."

"Well I disagree," Liam replied, "It's all there. Just like I said it would be."

James opened the email, his face turning ashen, "My word…and you two thought the best way to share this information between yourselves was via yahoo mail?!"

Liam nodded, "I know it's not advised. But maybe you can understand why we couldn't use the private server. Yahoo mail is that last thing Robert would expect. If he knows we're on to him, this could end badly for all of us."

James nodded, "That much is true. But this ends now. Understood? You and Jasper are not vigilantes incorporated. This was my job to figure out. I have the permissions to access these files, or can acquire more if necessary, I have friends high up in Scotland Yard, no questions asked. So you tell Jasper that he stops this now, this is more than enough, any more of this and we all face time in prison for treason. "

Liam nodded, "Do you think you'll forgive him? I know he hurt you and Sarah Alice. But Jasper's a good guy, he truly does try to protect the people he cares about. He couldn't have known how things would play out. He never meant to hurt you, or Sarah Alice."

James sighed, "I know, but Jasper's problem is his problem to trust and confide in others. To ask them for help."

Liam nodded, "I know. But what can you expect from a guy who learnt to cook a full roast at age seven because his parents were too busy out cheating at poker to celebrate Christmas with him? Jasper had to do everything for himself growing up."

"I understand that," James said, beginning to feel guilty, "But he needs to realise that times have changed now."

"Yes, and you need to realise that you've known him for less than six months," Liam said, "How long did it take Sara Alice to start calling you Daddy?"

"Your highness," James began, "A year. It took a year, she could barely speak when I adopted her, though, she was only a year old."

Liam nodded understandingly, "But she never a reason to doubt you. Never had a reason to not trust you. Never had trust issues. And it still took her a year to be totally comfortable with seeing you as her Dad. Do you understand what I'm trying to say? It's going to take time."

"I tried to be like a father to him," James argued, "Tried to be the father he never had."

"I know," Liam said,"And I know that Jasper is grateful for that. But you have to understand that 'Dad' is a word that doesn't mean comfort or belonging or love to Jasper. He's going to instinctively push away anyone who tries to be a father figure to him. Even if he knows better deep down."

James nodded, "I'll apologise to him, for being harsh on him. But only if he agrees to see a counsellor. This has gone on long enough."

Liam smiled, "I'll convince him to see a therapist. Leave that to me."

"I just thought he knew he could trust me," James said, "I mean he seemed, so, normal, around my daughter."

"Yes, well he never had a little sister," Liam replied, "So he has no reason to have bad expectations of what will happen with her."

"Little sister?" James asked, "I didn't think they were that close."

"Do you mind if I?" Liam asked, before standing up and walking towards the other side of the desk.

"No, no, your highness," James asked as Liam knelt down to retrieve something under the desk.

He held out a scrapbook to James who took it from his confused.

Inside were several drawings- Sarah Alice, of course, her father, the royal family…

"My big brother, Jasper?" James asked, "What on earth?"

Liam smiled, "Jasper told me. It started when they went out at Christmas to buy the necklace for Eleanor. Everyone at the shops though they were related, so Sarah Alice went around telling them that Jasper was her older brother, because it was supposed to be a secret trip, and she thought it would be easier for them to keep up the secret if they were two siblings. I know. Over time, the lines must have become blurred."

James sighed, shaking his head, "I don't know what to do. On the one hand, everything telling me not to let him back in, on the other hand, I risk making my daughter even more upset than she is already."

"You used to be a detective," Liam answered, "Surely you can tell the bad guys from the messed up ones?"

James nodded, "Ok, but he sees a therapist. And as for the other matter, leave it to me."


	2. Chapter 2

"I don't know what to do!" Rosie despaired to her boss, turning around occassionally to check there was no one standing in the doorway behind her. She had barely managed to buy herself fifteen minutes time away from the Princess. Eleanor would be getting suspicious soon, but there was no other option, something needed to be said.

James sighed, looking at his computer screen, "It's not like I've tried to find something, anything. Prince Sebastian appeared to be one of the good guys."

"Like hell!" Rosie exclaimed, "He's a royal!"

"Charming," a familiar voice said, as Rosie turned around to face King Robert and Jasper, her face ashen.

"I'm sorry, your majesty, I never meant to imply-," Rosie began apologetically.

"It's no problem," Robert answered, "All families have skeletons in their closets, even royals. And your only intention is to protect my sister. That's mine and Jasper's intentions too. Which is why I need to ask you both if you knew about this little trip of Eleanor's?"

"Yes, your majesty," James answered, "I've been doing background checks on Prince Sebastian all morning, but there's nothing here."

"Eleanor's got her heart set on this trip," Rosie added, "I don't think you could persuade her out of it. Except- maybe there's one thing- how safe is Morocco? Surely, it's not safe?"

"I understand your argument," James replied, "But she'd have the best security in the world."

"Well what about sunburn?" Rosie added, earning a confused and bemused look from King Robert, "Well you know how easily the Princess gets burnt. Barcelona, Corsica, Naples, California, Miami- she won't be able to cope."

Robert grinned, "I'm sure that won't stop her."

"Well what about seismic activity?" Rosie suggested, "California sits on one of the most active fault lines in the world! And Naples is in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. Or flood risks? They're all on the coast!"

James tried his hardest not to laugh, "As much as I respect your concern, those risks won't be enough to convince the Princess to not leave. If you want to persuade Princess Eleanor to stay, then you need to do something far more… personal… from the heart."

Robert nodded, "Yes, I remember the arguments Liam and Leni used to have when they were kids- who's the tallest, who's the best at table tennis… I was the only one who could get her to back down before it resulted in a bloody fight."

Jasper gave the King a surprised look.

"Yes, Jasper," Robert added, "My sister can definitely look out for herself. So you might want to reconsider creeping around in the shadows."

Jasper blushed.

"Yeah, the Princess has spotted you doing that," Rosie added, whilst Jasper gave an exasperated sigh.

"Do you know where my sister is?" Robert asked.

"Red state room," Rosie said, "Working on a little art project."

Robert nodded and smiled, "Thank you. Jasper?"

"Your majesty, would you mind if I borrowed Mr Frost?" James asked, "Just for half an hour or so."

Robert smiled, "Looks like everyone wants to borrow Jasper today. I'll be fine for half an hour, Crenshaw's not due until eleven and… well I'll have Rosie with me anyway."

"Thank you," James said as he watched Rosie and Robert leave the room.

"James, I'm so sorry," Jasper began.

"Sit down," James answered, "I've been talking to Prince Liam and he's convinced me to give you a second chance. Mostly for Sarah Alice's sake, she's got it into her head that you're her older brother, or something like that, and well, she hasn't had a good night's sleep in over a week. I'm also going to forgive you- on one condition. You need to see a therapist, Jasper, I can't have you keep hurting us."

Jasper nodded, "I respect that. And thank you, for the apology. I will see someone, you're right I don't want to hurt you or Sarah Alice, or Len or Liam or anyone. I should have come to you for help but…"

"But father and support aren't two words that fit together for you," James said, "I understand. I'll just have to be more patient with you."

Jasper smiled.

"But I'm not going to help you get back with the Princess," James said, "I've played piggy in the middle before and it didn't work out well. You need to fix this one yourself."

Jasper nodded, "I intend to."

"Just one other thing," James said, "One massive other thing of course. Prince Liam showed the emails, and the files. Are you absolutely certain?"

Jasper nodded, "Absolutely certain."

James paused for a moment, "FML."

"I know," Jasper said, "is there some order we could get, to interrogate Boon, I mean, he's keep on dropping this information every now and then, how much more might he know?"

James nodded, "There might be. Certainly some friends at Scotland Yard could speak to him once that article's dropped."

"Yeah, about the article," Jasper said, "Well it's not about the plane crash, I couldn't let it be that. Instead I told her about what King, Prince, whatever, Robert did."

James sighed, angrily "I understand your reasons, but you do realise you are condemning us to prison again, right?"

"No," Jasper said hastily, "Because I took some precautions to make it not look like us. The file I took originally, the one about the plane crash, I didn't protect us well enough. The time after that, I made sure to use everything."

"Everything?" James asked.

"Yeah, encrypted VPNs," Jasper said, "Private servers, not the palace one of course. I set it up to make it look like Russian hackers targetted the palace."

James nodded, "You could have just asked me for help. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

Jasper sighed, "And you would have believed me? Believed me when I said, 'Hey Boon told me that Robert paid his boss's boss to fake his death, and get Ted Pryce to kill his father, oh and by the way, Eleanor would be dead too if it weren't for the fact that I called time on her drugs one night to stop her from accidentally OD-ing. And the only reason why he didn't target Liam was because of me and Marcus- because we're too keen eyed, oh and to not make it look suspicious by bumping off the spare too early on it the game. And yeah, he did all of this because he's a bastard, a pimp's bastard'. Would you have really believed me?"

James sighed, "Well I didn't know about the Princess Eleanor part."

"Neither did I," Jasper said, "Until I did a little digging around. It's in your desk draw, underneath the empty Maltesers wrappers. And no, I didn't teach your daughter how to pick locks, she figured that out by herself."

James let out an exasperated sigh as he unlocked his desk draw to see the Maltesers packets, undeniably emptied but glued back together to make it look like they were unopened. He'd be having words with his daughter. Underneath of that was a single leather-bound notebook. James picked it up, looking at the first page.

"Robert's diary," James said, "You know how much trouble you'll get in for this, if he finds it's gone missing?"

"He has twenty servants and cleaners," Jasper said, "I won't incriminate anyone unless I find something dodgy on their files, but if he asks I'll just say it must have gotten moved by someone."

James flicked through it, "Shit! This is as good as a confession."

"Unless it's a red herring," Jasper said, "Something he intended for us to find."

"What kind of man jokes about trying to bump off his own family?" James said, "No, we have hard evidence on those files- we know without a doubt the he paid an army chief to fake his death and paid and manipulated Ted Pryce into killing his father. As for the Queen and his Uncle Cyrus I don't think they had any idea. But Princess Eleanor? I thought he loved her the most out of everyone?"

"Page 34," Jasper said, " 'I hate that I have to make her leave, but at least this will be a peaceful way to go. Her life is full of so much pain, as is mine. We both have to hide who we are, from the people that will never love us for who we truly are. I just want her to be free.'"

"That's some seriously twisted logic," James said, "So you're saying the journalist will publish this instead, for definite."

"On the day before the coronation," Jasper said, "So basically at midnight tonight, the article goes live."

"Shit!" James swore, "And then what happens to us?"

"They'll come looking for me," Jasper replied "And I'll show them the Russian hacking data. Make it look like I'm trying to fix the breach rather than cause it."

"This sounds far too risky," James said, "I really wish you had told me about this before. Shit, Jasper, do you not realise how dangerous this is? I'd be mad at you if I didn't suspected this was the best option to take."

Jasper gave his boss an exasperated look, "Robert's a psycho, James. How long before he twists it all around to make Sarah Alice or you or I a threat in his eyes? Jesus, he wanted to kill Len because he thought it was the right thing to do to help her."

James sighed, "Well I guess what is done is done. Let's just hope we can make it out of this."

Jasper nodded solemnly.

"Although on a better note," James said, "You can come in now!"

"Finally!" a familiar voice said, as the secret door to James's office opened to reveal Sarah Alice, "I thought you'd never stop talking!"

Jasper grinned, "Hey little elf!"

Sarah Alice beamed before running into Jasper's arms, "I missed you so much. Where did you go?"

"I had to save the world," Jasper told her.

"Is it saved now?" Sarah Alice asked.

Jasper nodded, "Yeah, I think I've just about managed to save it."

"Good," Sarah Alice said, "Because you still haven't given Eleanor her Christmas present yet. Don't worry I've been keeping it safe for you."

Jasper smiled, "Well then, considering you've been doing such a good job keeping it safe, it seems only right that you should give it to her."

Sarah Alice frowned, "Why?"

"Because I think it'll be better as a surprise present," Jasper answered.

Sarah Alice pondered that, then nodded smiling, "Yeah, it would. I'll go hide it in her room now."

Jasper smiled as Sarah Alice ran away to get the book.

James shook his head, "Just make sure you do things right this time."

Jasper nodded with a smile, "I will."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

"No, Len, I'm not saying you can't go abroad," Robert argued, already knowing he was fighting a losing battle, "I just mean that you can't leave for six months."

"Why not?" Eleanor asked, "What exactly do I do here, Robbie? I can pay money to charities from abroad, I can visit charities whilst I'm abroad, I can give interviews over the phone or Skype. Six months is not a long time. Jeez, you were away for a year and a half in the RAF, the bloody heir, and no one gave a sh-."

"Your highness," Rosie interrupted, "I'm sorry but your brother is King and he is also your brother, he just wants what's best for you. And in all honesty, as your friend, I've got to ask you how well do you know Prince Sebastian?"

"We're friends," Eleanor said, "I know everyone's all team Jasper around here, but he's not a God. Not even close."

"Len," Robert said, "I'm not team Jasper. In fact, I wouldn't even be team Beck, and he's my best friend, for goodness sake. I'm team you. I want what's best for you, and I will make sure of that- no matter the cost."

"I appreciate the concern," Eleanor replied, "But I'm not a child. And I certainly don't appreciate being treated like one. I can look after myself, thank you very much, and if you remember Robbie, darling Beckwith learnt very well when he was just nineteen what happens when you make unwarranted advances to a princess. So you don't need to worry about that department."

"No you really don't," Liam said with a grin, "And Leni's right, it's her decision."

Eleanor grinned.

"Liam," Jasper whispered.

"I was wondering where you were, Jasper," Robert said, "Crenshaw will be here any moment and during that time I'm sure you'll be very busy party planning."

"Party planning?" Eleanor said, frowning, "Er, what party?"

"Er, Sarah Alice's birthday party," Jasper said, awkwardly brushing a strand of hair behind his ear.

"Right, erm, it's just," Eleanor began, "Well, Rosie and I are organising the party."

Jasper frowned, "No, Rosie and I are organising the celebration."

"Wait?" Eleanor asked, "Is there something going on?"

Robert rolled his eyes, "I thought I told you to keep your extra-curricular affairs in check, bodyguard."

"Wait…" Rosie began, "You don't actually think I'm dating Jasper?"

"I'll have to admit it kinda looks like that," Eleanor said.

"God no!" Rosie said, "Not that he isn't well… ya know… but no… what I mean is he's nice… just not that nice… well, I mean he's good with kids… no, I don't mean it like that… I'm just going to stop talking now."

Eleanor nodded, "Yes, you probably should."

"And he's yours," Rosie added, "If you, er, still want him."

Liam frowned, "Yes, well. Why don't we all just work together on party arrangements?"

"Yes, sparrow," Robert answered, "Sounds like the perfect solution."

Eleanor nodded, "Yup, I er, think it'll work."

"Jasper?" Robert asked.

"I was already in," Jasper said, "And for the record, Sarah Alice said that her dream party would have mermaids, princesses, and a casino."

"A casino?" Liam asked.

"Yeah, it wasn't actually entirely my fault," Jasper clarified, "You know those little people pretend to be grown ups places. You know where they have supermarkets and clothes stores and doctors and stuff like that. I took her to one of those when we went Christmas shopping and there was a casino there and she knew I worked in a hotel casino because apparently James told her that and she swapsied lessons in blackjack, and cheating at blackjack, for three milky way bars and a packet of my little pony top trumps, oh and silence."

"Christmas shopping?" Rosie asked, "Casino? Silence?"

"Oh, I'm getting the picture," Liam said with a grin, "Next time, just ask me for help, yeah?"

Eleanor bit her lip, "Do I want to know?"

"Erm, you'll find out," Jasper replied, "But in a good way, or at least I hope you'll think it's a good way."

Eleanor stepped close to him, "Jasper you're insufferable, you know that right?"

Jasper nodded, "I'm sorry, Eleanor."

"Three milky way bars, my little pony and silence, Jasper!" Eleanor said, shaking her head, "Well let's hope when I find out that I do actually like whatever it is."

Jasper watched as Eleanor and Rosie walked away.

"Did you really ask a seven year old elf for relationship advice?" Liam asked his friend.

Jasper nodded, "Not my finest moment."

"No, but in all fairness," Liam replied, "Probably one of your finer moments."

Robert grinned, "So what did you get my sister?"

"A necklace," Jasper replied, "And yeah, I know, she gets tons of jewellery, but I overlooked that, so instead Sarah Alice and I designed a storybook- because all princesses have stories about them."

Liam grinned, "A storybook."

"Yeah," Jasper said, "A storybook."

"You just left her for three weeks," Liam asked.

"Yeah, shit that's definitely not going to enough," Jasper replied, "What do I do?"

"Er, keep your extra-curricular affairs in check?" Robert suggested, "Like I told you to."

"Just be yourself," Liam suggested, "And play the sympathy card."

"Ok," Jasper said, before darting towards the door, "And for the record your majesty, I only said I'd keep my distance from your sister if I accepted being your detail permanently."

Robert and Liam watched him darting away.

"That son of a bitch," Robert said.

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

Jasper arrived outside of Eleanor's door, and was about to knock, but he didn't know if he should or shouldn't-

"I know you're bloody well out there," Eleanor yelled out, "So get your sorry arse in here now!"

Jasper opened the door tentatively to see Eleanor sitting in her chair at the coffee table, the present opened, and the book sat in front of her, turned to the last page.

"What is this, Jasper?" Eleanor asked, it was clear that she had tears in her eyes, "I told you to walk away. I told you that it's over."

"I know but…" Jasper began.

"I'm leaving in a week's time," Eleanor said, "I'm leaving for six months."

"Are you, really?" Jasper replied, "Because I don't think that Robert's going to let you."

"Yes, well," Eleanor said, "He's not the boss of me, even if he is going to be the boss of this country! And for shitsake Jasper this has to stop! I've moved on, now please do the same!"

"Eleanor, look at me," Jasper said, knowing this might well be his last chance, "Really look at me."

"I'm looking," Eleanor said, her emerald eyes staring into his light blue ones, "What I'm supposed to see?"

"A man who loves you," Jasper said desperately, "A man who trusts you. And a man who can't live without you."

"Shit, Jasper," Eleanor said, "Look I'm I still meant what I said. I'm done with this shit. I can't live my life waiting for the next bump in the road, the next stumbling block."

"I know," Jasper said, "And I get it, but Len, do you think all relationships apart from ours run smoothly? No, there's always bumps in the roads, stumbling blocks, but people face them together because they love each other. I love you, Eleanor."

"That's not fair," Eleanor replied, shaking her head, "None of this fair. I've given you so many chances Jasper- first you blackmailed me, then you slept with my mum, tried to rob from me, oh and broke my heart on Christmas fucking Eve to save your goddamn 'precious' arse from a nosey reporter. You know what I don't like Sebastian as more than a friend, but sometimes I really wish I did because you know what he says the right things, he does the right things…"

"If that what you want in a guy, Len, then I'll hook you up with a ton of guys I know from back home," Jasper said exasperated, "Shit, Eleanor, just because a guy says or does the right things doesn't mean he's a nice guy, or that he loves you or anything like that. It's when he comes back time and time again, find out who murdered his girlfriend's father, painted her room with her when she was too scared to go on a real date... Eleanor, I'm not saying this Sebastian is a bad guy, but he'll never love you as much as I do. It just isn't possible."

"Jasper," Eleanor began, tears in her eyes.

"I want to be with you for the rest of time and that's exactly what I intend to do,"Jasper promised her.

Eleanor looked at him shocked, "Is that supposed to mean what I think it's supposed to mean?"

Jasper nodded, "Yeah it does. I might not be doing things perfectly, but I never have, and the Eleanor I love knows that we don't do perfect by anyone else's standards, because we're perfect for each other and that's completely what we both need."

Eleanor blinked back tears, walking towards him, "Jasper, I promised Sebastian I'd go."

"Well unpromise him," Jasper said.

"What about the designing?" Eleanor asked.

"There's no reason you can't follow your dreams here," Jasper said, "I'm sure your family have beach side condos all over the world too."

Eleanor nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks as Jasper kissed her cheek delicately.

"I'm still not sure, Jasper," Eleanor admitted.

"Well just think about it," Jasper replied, "I'm not going anywhere."

Eleanor nodded.

"Len," Jasper began, "I've made a promise to myself, and I'm making a promise to everyone to be honest from now on."

Eleanor nodded, brushing her tears away, "Good."

"Which is why you need to hear this," Jasper said with a sigh, "Even though I really wish you didn't have to find this out, but it's better you know this now instead with everyone else at midnight tonight."

"Jasper?" Eleanor frowned, "What have you done?"

Jasper sighed, "I told the truth."

"About your past?" Eleanor asked, "To the reporter? Jasper you didn't need to tell them that."

Jasper shook his head, tears beginning to spill for his eyes, "No, I wish it was that."

"Jasper, tell me now," Eleanor said, looking at him demandingly.

"Robert tried to kill you, Eleanor."


	3. Chapter 3

"WHAT?!" Eleanor exclaimed as she rushed towards the door, Jasper grabbing her quickly, wrapping his arms around her body as she fought against him.

"LET ME GO!" Eleanor yelled, "THIS HAS TO BE SOME SICK JOKE! NO, THIS ISN'T TRUE! IT CAN'T BE…true."

Jasper hugged Eleanor tightly as she sobbed loudly, barely able to stand up. He had only seen her this way before once- when her father had died and she had broken down in Liam's arms.

Jasper didn't know how long they'd be standing there like that, but he didn't mind. Eleanor was in his arms, where she belonged, and he was there for her, just like he always should have been and always would be.

"You better how bloody proof of this Jasper…" Eleanor mumbled into his shirt, "Robbie… he couldn't have…"

"He did, Eleanor," Jasper replied, "I'm so sorry."

"How?"Eleanor asked, "How did he try to kill me? And why?"

Jasper guided Eleanor carefully to the sofa, helping her sit down next to him. She was a mess- mascara ran down her face, her eye-shadow was smudged, and she looked shaky and pale- in obvious shock.

"You remember that night in Paris?" Jasper asked.

"No, of course, I can't remember any of the bloody nights in Paris!" Eleanor snapped, "I really let myself become a shit show didn't I? Didn't even notice that someone tried to kill me."

Jasper looked at her solemnly, "It was after the charity garden party, you know the one where you tried to make out with that athlete swimmer guy."

"And you killed him," Eleanor added.

"No, no just knocked him out," Jasper answered, "Well, that night you went to Paris, and I was still your bodyguard then so naturally I went with you. Look, I grew in Las Vegas, worked in casinos, I know what it's like to live life in the fast lane. That night you drank a lot of alcohol and were taking lots of drugs too, a concerning amount- so when this random guy you were flirting with put some drugs into your drink I punched his lights out and brought you straight back to the palace, where you slept off your hangover and high."

Eleanor nodded, "You thought it was just some random guy try to get me roofied, or that I'd asked for drugs."

"Initially," Jasper said, "But it's security policy to investigate anyone who looks shady and keep files on them. So I did a background check, he was just some lord from somewhere, nothing interesting. But of course his name and the date of the incident was logged. I only found out about what happened to you when I was trying to find something for the journalist to use instead of her file about us. I decided to hand Boon over to her, and files on the plane crash, after she was finished interviewing him. He told me a few things.

"I set up a load of security protection, made in look like it was Russian hackers and not me, and investigated what Boon had talked to me about. When I got arrested the other day, that was for leaking the plane crash file, not everything else, I'd forgotten to set up a VPN when I accessed James's computer to get the file, and got us in a load of shit…"

"Bet he loved you doing that for him," Eleanor said sadly, "So what did Boon say?"

"Liam and I have been spending the past week sorting through the files," Jasper said, "Everything checks out. Robert paid an army chief to fake his death- this army chief called Boon and gave him that mission- also Robert paid Ted Pryce to kill your father, the late King Simon, and manipulated him into it too. This is because your brother, Robert, is the son of a… well, there's no nice way to say it… pimp."

Eleanor began to shake violently and sobs ripped through her and Jasper held her to his side, her head resting on his shoulder. He didn't know how much more she could take.

"Tell me…." Eleanor began, her voice filled with obvious shock, "Tell me everything."

Jasper sighed, "To the best of my knowledge your mother, the Queen, and Prince Cyrus weren't involved in any of this. Robert's plan was to fake his death and come back at a later date, roughly a year or so after the event, and then assume his role as King. He suggested the Privy council and paid key figures to vote for him- to ensure he would gain power. He also did all of that out of spite- because he believed that it would be a great idea to let Liam have a taste of greatness and then to show the world who was the better monarch. He also planned to use your death to cripple Liam."

"But why?" Eleanor asked, shaking her head in disbelief, "We were his family."

"He didn't see it that way," Jasper said, "I know he cared about you and probably the Queen, in a very very warped way. He mentioned in his diary about him trying to give you some peace and comfort because you felt unloved and isolated."

"He thought killing me would be good for me?" Eleanor asked in disbelief, "Robbie…"

"Len, Eleanor," Jasper said, "It's going to be ok. At midnight the article gets released and the world knows the truth and then Robert will be gone and you'll all be safe."

"Why didn't he try to kill Liam?" Eleanor asked.

"It would look to suspicious," Jasper said, "Killing off the spare. And Robert was afraid of Marcus, and me to a certain extent. Thought we would be too keen eyed and notice if something was going on."

"Well you did," Eleanor answered, between sobs, "And you saved my life. Shit, Jasper, you saved my life."

Jasper nodded, "Yeah, I did."

"Even when you hated me," Eleanor said.

Jasper felt his heart crumble, "No, no, Eleanor, I never hated you. I wasn't even interested in the con for more than a fortnight after I met you. No, by then I knew I couldn't do that to you. And I never never hated you. Even when I was all about the con I never hated you, I immensely respected you, I hadn't ever met my match before in anyone, it was an exciting experience."

Eleanor smiled sadly, "Why is it that things always start to get better for us when the world starts to fall apart?"

"Better for us?" Jasper asked, trying not to be ridiculously over optimistic.

Eleanor nodded, "Like how at the King's cup you saved me from the crowd and I realised I could trust you, and now, you find out all out my brother, and what he was doing, and tell me that you basically saved my life and I feel those weeks of hate and denial just fall away and I'm not sure but it feels like I can back to where I was before, I mean I want to and I want more than that. But I just… right now…. I…"

"Len?" Jasper asked as Eleanor's breathing become more and more raspy.

"Jasper, what's happening to me?" Eleanor asked, her eyes wide with fright.

"HELP!" Jasper yelled, as he pulled Eleanor into his arms. Had Robert… no, no…..

Liam came racing into the room, and ran towards the sofa, where Eleanor lay limply in Jasper's arms, "Eleanor! Eleanor, it's going to be ok."

But she was already far away.

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

"Come in," James said, hearing a knock at the door, "Yes, Rosie, I need to talk to you about something."

"I already know," Rosie said, trying to hold back tears, "Liam sent me the email and told me everything. We need to get them to safety immediately. Princess Eleanor, Prince Liam, the Queen, Prince Cyrus, you and Sarah Alice, and Jasper…"

"Calm down!" James said to her, "Yes, I agree, there's no telling what may happen once the article is released tonight and I've made plans. Right now I need you to stay with the Princess, keep her safe."

The door behind them burst open, revealing a flustered looking Liam, "Eleanor…"

Rosie and James shared a concerned look before darting after the young prince.

He lead them to Eleanor's room.

The young princess lay on her bed, Jasper sitting next to her, crying unashamedly.

"What happened?" James demanded.

"We were just talking," Jasper said, "I was telling her about everything on the emails and then her breathing got really raspy and she passed out."

"Did she eat or drink anything?" James asked.

Jasper shook his head, "No."

"Len usually never eats breakfast," Liam said.

James sighed, "I'll get Dr Cohen to check on her. But it's probably a panic attack."

Jasper nodded, "Will she be ok?"

James nodded, "Yes, and I think it might be a good idea to move to the safe location now, and I'd appreciate if you took Sarah Alice with you. This is no environment for her to be in right now, and if I'm wrong then I don't really want her just wandering around the palace."

"But won't it look suspicious?" Liam asked, "Especially if Jasper leaves, he's supposed to be protecting Robert today."

"You're right," Rosie said, "I'll go with them. We'll make it look as if the Princess wants to do some last minute sightseeing before leaving, and wanted to take Sarah Alice with her. The Princess doesn't have any commitments today apart from her own party designing ones, so it shouldn't cause any problems."

James nodded, "Yes, that's sound. And tonight we'll put plan cobra into place, right, Jasper?"

"Cobra?" Liam asked.

Jasper nodded, "After the nightclub my parents used to frequent to pickpocket."

Liam shook his head in disbelief, "And what does that entail?"

"Making it look like I'm trying to identify and take down the Russian hackers with every possible strategy I know," Jasper said.

Liam nodded, "And you'll pretend to not have seen anything?"

James shook his head, "No, if anyone asks us we'll say that we assumed it was a malicious rumour being spread to thwart the coronation."

"Well I just hope it works out all ok," Liam replied.

"I don't know how I'm going to be around Robert all day," Jasper replied solemnly, staring at Eleanor, "And be away from her right now. Knowing everything he's done…"

"Jasper, enough!" James said, "You have to keep it together. If Robert asks tell him Eleanor told you to piss off and stop harassing her, and that you think that he's right, that time will be the best solution, don't tell him you're giving in, but give him the impression you're going to ease off and focus on him for a good while. Throw yourself into planning for the coronation and helping Robert in any way you can. Understood? Jasper, is that understood?"

Jasper nodded sadly.

"Dr Cohen should be here in five minutes," Rosie said.

There was a knock at the door and everyone went silent.

"Crenshaw baled, so it's being arranged for tomorrow instead," Robert yelled out, "Jasper, I do actually need you to accompany me to the working lunch. Len, is it ok if I come in?… Leni?"

"Come in," Jasper said in a shaky voice.

"Dear God, what happened?" Robert asked in shock as he saw his sister, "Shit Jasper!"

Jasper shook his head, "I don't know what happened we were just talking. Then I proposed to her and she passed out…"

"YOU DID WHAT?" Robert exploded, "What part of keep your ex-curricular affairs in check got lost in translation? What part of that do you not understand?"

"Wait, you proposed to her?" Liam asked.

Jasper nodded, "I know it probably wasn't the right thing to do at the time, but I just couldn't help myself, I…"

"Holy shit," Robert said, "Well, you've totally blown it now."

Jasper nodded, "It was the wrong thing to do, and I was being desperate, and you know what you're right, I have blown and I should have just kept my distance. Just as soon as I know Len's going to be ok, I'll come with you."

"No, you'll come with me now," Robert replied with an unwavering certainty, "It doesn't take four people to call a doctor and I'm pretty sure you're the last person Len wants to see when she wakes up."

Jasper nodded sadly, inside he was seething, "Yeah, I'm really sorry."

"For once could you just do what you're supposed to," Robert replied, "Just for once."

Jasper nodded sadly, "Yeah, I'll do that from now on."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK  
When Eleanor woke up only Rosie and James were there, but she knew something bad must have happened because Jasper was gone and she was lying on her bed, aware of mascara on her cheeks. Her brain felt fuzzy and she turned to see Dr Cohen adjusting an IV.

"What happened?" Eleanor asked, "Where's Jasper?"

"He was called away on work, your highness," James explained.

Eleanor nodded- he must be with Robert. Oh Jasper… how was he going to a cope?

"Asides from very mild hypoglycaemia and a little dehydration there is nothing of concern," Dr Cohen said, "You were right Mr Hill. Just a panic attack. Probably the excitement of the upcoming coronation, would do her good to get some time away from it all to relax. I've known the Princess all of her life, she had a tendency, to er, not do things by half measures."

Rosie nodded, "So burnout then?"

The doctor nodded, "Definitely."

"So now will you let us do that sea side trip?" Rosie begged James.

James nodded, "Ok, but you'll stick together at all times."

Rosie nodded, and Eleanor nodded too once she began to understand what was going on.

"I think we're done now," Dr Cohen said removing the IV, "But Princess, I will repeat what I've said before, breakfast is the most important meal of the day and you should be drinking at least eight glasses of water a day."

Eleanor smiled slightly, "Yeah, maybe this time I'll take that advice on board."

Dr Cohen rolled his eyes, "Ok, well call me if you need anything."

"Seaside?" Eleanor asked, "But I'm going to be at the beach for the next six months?"

"Honey, you're definitely not," Rosie replied, "Not with the way Jasper was acting after you passed out."

"Jasper?" Eleanor asked, muddled, "Where is he? We were talking and then… oh god, Robert tried to kill me… but then Jasper told me he saved my life… now Jasper has to be around him all day… and James, you can't let that happen, please, what if Robert tries to hurt him…"

"Princess, it's ok," James told her, "Jasper knows how to keep up a good poker face, he'll be fine. But you need to leave the palace now, and take Sarah Alice and Rosie with you. One, because I know if you see Robert you'll clobber him and two because when the article drops tonight, there's no knowing what Robert might do or how he might react. Prince Liam will join you later on, ok?"

"But Jasper?" Eleanor asked.

"Will be safe," James said, "And you'll see him very very soon, ok? Rosie, is the car ready?"

"Where are we going?" Eleanor asked, "Someone will notice us, tell Robert, he'll come after me."

"Robert's busy with coronation plans, interviews and a ton of other things," Rosie replied, "He's not going to care about his sister going on a girly day out shopping."

"So that's the cover story," Eleanor replied, "But what are we actually doing?"

"Well whatever Sarah Alice wants, I guess," Rosie replied, "And she wants to go to the seaside and then the cinema to watch Moana."

"But that's not safe," Eleanor replied.

"It's safer for us to keeping moving around in one area," Rosie explained, "Rather than being sitting ducks in some hotel somewhere."

Eleanor sighed, "James?"

James nodded, "Rosie's right. And young kids have short attention spans. Give Sarah Alice the day to do whatever she wants and she will spend the whole day literally running all over the place. Making you very hard to track down."

Eleanor nodded, "Ok, but what about the coronation?"

"We'll pretend everything's going ahead as normal," James replied, "Tonight when the article is leaked, Jasper and I will pretend to do damage control, we've set up some false leads that should keep us busy for hours. Once everything has been cleared up then we'll come to get you, bring you back to the palace, ok?"

Eleanor nodded, "I just really hope this all works."


	4. Chapter 4

Eleanor buried her head in her hands to try to hide the tears that were starting to form in her eyes and threatened to spill onto her cheeks. It was mid-afternoon and despite it being only early February they had wound up on Brighton beach only a few hundred metres from the pier.

Sarah Alice was playing some kid of game with Rosie whilst Eleanor sat on a blanket and tried again and again to get signal so that she could text Jasper. What if something had happened? What if Robert had found out? What would happen tonight once the article was leaked?

She knew that Rosie and Sarah Alice were there but she still very very alone. And then there was that other thing as well, that other massive things that nagged at her guts. She had no idea what to say but she knew she had to say something.

 _I want to be with you for the rest of time and that's exactly what I intend to do_

Jasper had only gone and bloody proposed to her.

Eleanor breathed in a shaky sigh, hoping she wasn't going to have another panic attack, and hoping too that Jasper knew that she was ok because it must have scared him to see her like that. She knew that she forgave him now, although there would be conditions- he would have to start trusting her more, and telling the truth. But he always did the right thing in the end, Eleanor could rely on him for that, if though the 'right thing' more often than not involved uncovering some murderer.

Flowers would have done it, Eleanor thought, or a box of chocolate. Along with a trip to America, of course. She'd always wanted to go to New York- with Jasper. If there was a next time, although she hoped that they would never have to go through the same hell again, she'd tell him that in some sort of subtle way.

Now her head was a mess, and her heart even worse. Yes, she'd take Jasper back. But how much? Just as a boyfriend or as a fiance. They had gone through a lot of shit together, but they weren't perfect, would they ever be perfect though? And what would she say to Sebastian? He'd put a lot of trust in her to follow through on her promise?

Eleanor sighed, maybe she should focus on things one day at a time because at the rate things were going, anything could happen at any time.

And it wasn't like Jasper asked a yes or no question, Eleanor reminded herself with an unsure smile, he had just promised to be with her forever, there was no obligation to return the sentiment. Although if Eleanor was being honest she did kind of feel the same way too, although admitting that to herself was scary enough, admitting that to Jasper…

"Come on, Leni!" Sarah Alice yelled running towards her, "You can't sit around waiting for Jasper Caterpillar to call all day! Come help us build sandcastles!"

Eleanor grinned, "Ok."

"Yay!" Sarah Alice yelled earning a smile from Rosie.

Rosie gave the Princess a tired look, "I forget seven year olds had so much energy, and that they're too old for naps too."

Eleanor smiled, "I'm sorry for not being more involved, I'm trying to participate but…"

"Jasper," Rosie said, "He will call you later, I promise."

Eleanor smiled sadly, trying to blink back tears, "What do I say to him?"

"About Robert?" Rosie asked.

"No."

"About the conversation you had before you passed out?"

"No."

"What?"

"He proposed to me, Rosie! Jasper flipping proposed to me!"

Sarah Alice turned around with a large grin on her face, "Happy ever afters do exist!"

Eleanor smiled as Rosie tried to process what the princess had just said.

"Wait you mean he asked you to marry him?" Rosie asked, "For real? I thought he was just saying that as a cover story for Robert."

"Wait, Robbie knows?" Eleanor asked in shock.

"So when are you getting married?" Sarah Alice asked excitedly.

"Er, some time… in the future… probably…" Eleanor replied hastily to the little girl.

"Yeah, Robert knows," Rosie replied, "He came into your room when you passed out and Jasper told him you passed out because he proposed to you, I thought he was just making it up, I didn't realise he actually asked you to marry him."

"What do you mean probably?" Sarah Alice asked confused, "Didn't you say yes? You aren't leaving now, are you? You can't do that to Jasper Caterpillar, he's your prince."

"No, I'm not leaving," Eleanor answered, knowing in her heart that was a definite, "And no he didn't actually ask me to marry him, he just said he wanted to be with me for the rest of time."

"Well that's good enough," Sarah Alice answered, "So what did you say to him?"

"I can't remember," Eleanor replied.

"You can't remember?" Sarah Alice asked, "I can see now why you two ask for my help so much with your relationship. You simply can't cope on your own, can you?"

Eleanor shook her head as Rosie tried to stop herself grinning, "No, no, by the looks of things we really can't."

"Well do you want to marry Jasper?" Sarah Alice asked.

Eleanor bit her lip, "Well yes, but it's not that simple."

"Why?" Sarah Alice asked.

"Because he lied to me," Eleanor replied.

"Well he could just write a sorry card," Sarah Alice answered, "Like when I punched this girl at my school in the face because she bullying my friend Henry."

Eleanor winced, "You know you shouldn't go around punching people."

"Why not?" Sarah Alice replied, "My daddy and Jasper do. Jasper told me about the time my daddy knocked out this bad guy at a restaurant. I think that was pretty cool."

"Did Jasper teach you how to punch?" Rosie asked the little girl.

Sarah Alice bit her lip, "Will he get in trouble if I say yes?"

Eleanor rolled her eyes, "We'll pretend we never hear it, ok?"

Sarah Alice grinned, "Good, because we need to go dress shopping right now."

"Dress shopping?" Eleanor asked.

"For a wedding dress of course!" Sarah Alice exclaimed.

"No, we don't," Eleanor corrected her, feeling panicked, "I didn't say yes to Jasper."

Sarah Alice sighed, "Well then we'll window shop, and maybe try on a few things. You can say yes to Jasper later when he comes to pick us up and take us back to the palace."

"No, Sarah Alice," Eleanor answered, "We can't go wedding dress shopping because I'm a princess and someone might see and tell a journalist that I might possibly be getting married."

"Well you are getting married to Jasper," Sarah Alice replied, "And Robert knows why does it matter if everyone else knows? Do you mean to say that no one else knows about you and Jasper?"

"Yes, exactly," Eleanor replied, "It's our secret. No one outside of the palace knows."

"Well that's just silly," Sarah Alice replied, "You're going to marry him now. You should tell everyone."

Eleanor sighed, knowing full well that the little girl had a point.

"I know," Rosie began, "Why don't we help the Princess pick out an outfit for tonight when Jasper comes to pick us up?"

Sarah Alice grinned exuberantly, "Yes, but it's got to be a very very special outfit because it's going to be the outfit you're wearing when you tell him you want to marry him and live with him forever and ever and ever."

Eleanor shot her bodyguard an irritated look before sighing and rolling her eyes, "Ok, let's go dress shopping then."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

Jasper raced after Robert, still trying to process what had happened in the red state room only minutes before. He wished he'd had a chance to talk to Liam- mostly to yell at him for almost blowing their cover. What was he thinking bringing up the island there and then?

Then again, Jasper reminded himself, it was easy to forget that Liam could be emotional too, especially when compared to Len. Liam was the quieter one of the twins by comparison. But Jasper should have expected him to lash out and do something reckless like that.

"Did you know about that trip to the island?" Robert asked.

"No, your majesty," Jasper replied, "It must have happened whilst I was away."

Robert sighed, "I don't know why he thinks it's all such a big deal. I'm back now and I'm fixing things now. And I would appreciate if people just towed the line for once and helped me out."

"Yes, your majesty," Jasper replied, feeling the sting of what was really being said.

Robert stopped turning around to face Jasper, "I'm sorry, that was unfair. I know you were only trying to make things better with Len. Although your methods were a bit of a shitshow to be fair. I know you're serious about being with my sister, which is fair, but I think you need to hone your skills a little bit before you try to make any advances."

Jasper smiled sadly, "Yeah, you're right about that."

Robert sighed, "I wouldn't be too concerned though. Leni's always been soft and sensitive. Although she likes to pretend she isn't. She's not too hard to impress either, so I'm sure she'll give you another chance despite everything, she might even say yes to your proposal."

Jasper grinned, "You really think so?"

"Maybe," Robert replied, "But right now I wouldn't give you my pleasing. For Len's sake. She needs time, and you need to get your head in the right place too."

Jasper nodded, "I understand."

Robert smiled, "Come on, I've got to help my mother arrange coronation plans and you know what she gets like about that. Maybe you should reconsider tonight, coming with me to the celebration at Kay's, I mean after all you don't have a party to plan considering everyone's away."

Jasper sighed, and then smiled, there was no way out of this it seemed, "Yeah, sure. I don't know what time Rosie will be getting back but she said they wouldn't be back until quite late."

"Yeah, the shopping trip," Robert asked, "Len usually gets things delivered."

Jasper shrugged, "They took Sarah Alice with them. Maybe it's something to do with her birthday."

Robert became thoughtful, and then shrugged, "Sometimes, no matter what I do I just can't understand my siblings. You're lucky you're an only child."

Jasper paused for a moment as he watched Robert walk ahead of him.

The daft shit, Jasper thought to himself, he didn't know what he was talking about.

Then again, had he told Len about his little sister?

No, shit! Jasper remembered, Well that was going to be awkward.

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK  
 **Several hours later**

It was nearly midnight and Eleanor and Rosie were too anxious to sleep. They were on the top floor of the most expensive hotel in Brighton and Eleanor stared out at the skyline without seeing. Sarah Alice slept, curled up on the bed, clutching her new teddy bear tightly in her arms.

"He'll call," Rosie replied, "He said he'd call before one."

Eleanor bit her lip, aware of the dress sitting in the bag next to her.

"He said he'd pick us up as soon as he knew it was safe," Rosie reassured her.

Eleanor tried to hold back tears, as she scrolled through her twitter feed, "In four minutes, Rosie, in four minutes it's going to be all over the internet? I'm so scared. I just need to hear his voice…"

Rosie hugged her friend, "It's going to be ok, your highness."

"For goodness sake just call me Len," Eleanor said exasperated.

Eleanor let the tears spill down her cheeks, "When I see him, I'm telling him yes."

"Len, are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes," Eleanor replied, "I want to marry Jasper."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

Jasper took another shot of vodka to try to hide his nerves. He should be back at the palace by now, he shouldn't be drunk, he should be helping James prepare, not taking part in a drinking game with Angie and Robert.

"Come on, let's play never have I ever, Jasper," Robert suggested.

"I don't think that would be much fun," Jasper replied, "I've done quite a lot of things."

"Oh, now you have to tell me," Angie said, clearly drunk out of her mind, and trying to flirt with him, "You can't just say that and not tell me anything."

"Angie leave Jasper alone," Robert replied, "You don't know where he's been."

Jasper bit his lip, trying not to react to that. Did Robert really just slut-shame his own sister?

"I think you're struggling to keep up with us," Robert said, "Sparrow never could handle his alcohol as well I do. You don't need to worry Jasper, you won't have to pick up after me, I have a high tolerance for alcohol. You don't need to be so 'on duty' tonight."

Jasper smiled, trying to relax, but aware all the time of what was going on in the background.

The last thing he needed was to blow the whole thing, so he turned on that old charm- that same old charm that had endeared Mandy to him the first time they met, that had convinced various men to give him deals that he'd ultimately played to his advantage.

He smiled merrily as he felt that old certainty slip back into place, yeah he could pretend to be Jasper 1.0 for a little while now, it would work to his advantage.

And come the morning he'd be Jasper 2.0 again with Eleanor next to him hopefully. James had arranged for him to be in Brighton by twelve the next day.

He hated knowing that Eleanor was going to have to spend at least the next twelve hours away from him.

"Robert," a worried looking Kathryn said as she returned from her kitchen, "Have you seen this shit storm that's going on online?"

Robert shook his head, smiling, "What did someone spot my sister buying something racy?"

"No," Kathryn replied gravely, passing him her phone, "They're saying you ordered for your father to be killed."

"WHAT?!" Robert asked infuriated, "Give me that now!"

"Your majesty," Jasper asked panicked, "What's going on?"

The room was silent as Robert read the article on the phone and then must have read another one and another one.

"Someone has started a hate campaign against me," Robert said angrily, "Spreading some of the most vile rumours ever about me. We need to get back to the palace now. Something tells me this is going to be a long night, Jasper."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

"James!" Robert yelled as he walked into the head of security's office, "James, what the hell is going on?"

James sat at his desk, a computer and laptop powered on and several coded programmes running simultaneously, the stress was clear on his face as he made notes in a book marked as confidential.

"Your majesty," James said standing up, "I swear we'll figure this out. I'm running software now to find the leak's location with a live communication feed between myself and MI6. We'll find whoever did this."

Jasper turned to face the computer screens, he understood the basics of the software coding but obviously not as much as James did still he knew everything was going to plan, the software was picking up all of the signals on his first false trail and when that showed up nothing he was sure that James was going to be more than able to put the next false trail in place, all the while simultaneously picking up more and more of the files about Robert filled with the verified information and sending them in an encrypted format to MI6.

"Jasper could you come with me please?" Robert asked as Jasper nodded and followed him from the office, "I bet it was that little shit would spread this rumour."

"Wait! What Liam?" Jasper asked shocked, "You seriously think this was Liam?"

Robert sighed, stopping, "I don't know. But who else would it be?"

Jasper shrugged, "I don't know, but James and I will find out. All I know is that it wouldn't be Liam. He wouldn't hurt you, I know he acts like a - well, you know- towards you sometimes but you're his brother he wouldn't do that."

Robert nodded, "And he wouldn't drag our sister through the dirt either, or our father. Did you see the shit they wrote about Eleanor? They tried to say that I paid someone to kill her. Who would be sick enough to think of something like that?"

Jasper went quiet, "There's some really fucked up people in the world, your majesty."

"Yes, I guess you know that only too well," Robert answered, "Heavens I bet Len is in pieces right now, I should go check on her before meeting my mother for some damage control."

"You can't!" Jasper said impulsively.

"What do you mean I can't?" Robert asked.

"Eleanor's staying at a hotel overnight," Jasper said, "Rosie and her have organised this surprise day for Sarah Alice, because Eleanor's going away…"

"Well she isn't leaving at all now," Robert interrupted, "And I'm very sorry for Sarah Alice but the surprise day is cancelled. So you need to tell them to get back here right now. No excuses."

Jasper nodded, he hadn't expected it to turn out like this.

"Oh, and Jasper," Robert said, "We're going to make sure the coronation goes ahead no matter who gets trampled in the process. Understood? Whoever did this is going to pay dearly."


	5. Chapter 5

"Princess," Rosie said trying to wake up Eleanor, "I mean Len. You have to wake up, we have to go back to the palace now."

Eleanor woke up groggily, "Jasper?"

Rosie sighed shaking her head, "No, your brother, Robert. He's sent a car to here and I just got a text from James to say we have to play along for now. I don't know what's happening, why they haven't arrested him yet, I mean by now they should have enough information."

"Who's getting sent this info?" Eleanor asked.

"MI6," Rosie answered, "They should have done something by now. I don't understand."

"I think I do," Eleanor replied, "Robert has friends in MI6- the ones who rescued him from the island."

Rosie sighed, "We didn't think of that. I'll have to get James to send the info to someone else. I don't know how we'll do it everything was being released on a time-delay written into the software."

"Does Jasper have the files stored anywhere else?" Eleanor asked, "I mean on a seperate hard drive."

"Probably," Rosie said, "But they'd be encrypted and password protected and everything. Why what are you thinking?"

"I… it would never work anyway," Eleanor answered, "I thought we could drop off the disk at a police station, just any random one."

"No, Len," Rosie said, "It would still wind up with MI6."

"So we're screwed then?" Eleanor replied, trying to hold back tears, "And Jasper and James they could get arrested for this…"

"No, no, they won't," Rosie reassured her, "Look I don't know how many friends Robert has in MI6, but I'd suspect that James has friends there too who are working on this. I know Robert's powerful and they'll be reluctant to arrest him until they have enough information but they will, otherwise…"

"Otherwise what?" Eleanor asked.

"Right now copies of the files have only been sent to the major UK newspapers," Rosie replied, "At ten today, if Jasper doesn't stop it, all of the major newspapers around the world will receive a digital copy of the files and permission to print them in full. The hard factual evidence. Right there, for the world to see. Jasper only wanted to hold back on that because he didn't want to make your life a shitshow by allowing the diary entry to be published"

"Will we even make it to ten?" Eleanor asked worriedly, "What time is it now?"

"Seven," Rosie replied, "Robert's men wanted us to leave at three but I told them you needed your sleep because that's what Dr Cohen ordered. Now, come on, Sarah Alice, time to wake up."

"Is Jasper Caterpillar here?" Sarah Alice asked sleepily.

"No, no, but we'll see him soon," Eleanor reassured her.

"Are we going back to the palace?" Sarah Alice asked.

Rosie nodded, "Yes, we are."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

"Are we any closer?" Robert asked for the billionth time as Jasper struggled to keep his eyes open.

Even James looked exhausted and Jasper felt sorry for him. The false trails were working well, and right now they were on the third that Jasper had set up- or rather, Jasper had gotten his sister to set up.

Because Emily Frost was very very different from her brother. In a cruel twist, she had been taken into care and not Jasper. Then again, there was thirteen years between them, so when child protective services visited they probably thought sixteen year old Jasper could cope on his own. He never resented her being the lucky one.

He hated that he asked her to do this. She should be happily off at her boarding school for genius kids, not helping her ex-con man brother design computer coding to mislead an MI6 investigation. Then again, Jasper thought, this was probably far more exciting than double maths. He just felt bad for dragging her into the family business, although as Em had reminded him, this wasn't the family business. The family business was being criminals, not stopping them, as far as Em was concerned although the methods were a little shady, the reasoning was sound.

Jasper sighed, he'd have to bring her over here to visit Eleanor once everything quietened down. He knew Len would love her. Em Frost was basically the thirteen year old version of Sarah Alice. Perhaps that's what had helped the connection between him and the little girl. It had always been a bitter-sweet one in his mind.

"No, you're majesty," James replied, "The first two leads went cold and this third one is almost pushing the limits of what I know, whoever did this was a genius."

Yup, Jasper thought, definitely a genius, with an IQ of 146.

"Robert?" Queen Helena asked as she walked into the security office. Jasper noticed just how tired and stressed she looked, "Robert, don't worry. Mr Hill and Mr Frost will solve this and your sister is on her way home now."

"What only now?" Robert asked.

"Dr Cohen's orders," Helena answered, "You know how delicate Eleanor can be sometimes. We don't want her getting sick, she'll need her strength for the coronation."

Robert nodded, "She's with Rosie. I shouldn't worry so much."

Helena hugged her son, "You should rest too. You have a coronation tomorrow and no doubt Crenshaw will find time in his precious little schedule to pencil in a lengthy interview with you later on. We'll need to be ready."

Robert nodded, "Ok, I'm going to try to get a few hours sleep. And James, Jasper, maybe you should too."

Jasper watched as Robert left the room.

"Ok, what's going on here?" Queen Helena asked and Jasper felt his stomach turn to jelly. How did she know it was him?

"There's been a leak of some palace files allegidly linked to the late King Simon's death and King Robert's plane crash. Alongside that there's been a leak of some outside documents alleging to have information about Robert's actions regarding the two events and supposed attempted… er, poisoning… of your daughter, Princess Eleanor. The issue is that the person who has these documents has protected them with a level of security I've never seen so whenever I try to find out there location I kept on getting sent all around the world- literally. Earlier the code was suggesting Russia, then China, now it's Saudi Arabia. I don't know if that will be the one, or rather, how long this will go on for."

The Queen sighed, "Ok, but what exactly do those files have on them?"

"I can only comment on the one's from inside the palace," James answered, "In reality there's very little on them that your whole family wasn't aware of anyway. As for the ones from outside of the palace, I honestly don't know. Unless I can get a copy I don't have anything I can work with."

Helena nodded, "It seems whoever this was is very good. If only they'd used their brain they'd have gotten a job with us instead of made an enemy of us."

Yes, Jasper thought to himself, but two Frosts in one building. Well he was exasperating enough.

"I'll leave you two it," Helena said, "If there's one thing that's going to make my day any better it's throwing covert insults at Crenshaw."

"Your majesty," James replied as the Queen walked away, before sighing and turning to Jasper, "When were you going to tell me about this sister of yours?"

Jasper sighed, "When I'd got my shit sorted out. When it was safe for her. She's not like you or Len or Sarah Alice, you all of have security, people to look out for you. My sister is completely on her own at a boarding school. It didn't feeling like the right time."

"Please tell me you at least told Eleanor," James said, "Jasper? Are you being serious? I thought the whole big problem for you and Len was not telling the truth."

"I know, I know," Jasper said, "But when the con was going on I didn't want Em to be involved and then afterwards Beck arrived and Eleanor was with Mandy and she didn't like me one bit, then she found out about the planned robbery and we were on bad terms. I was going to tell her but it was just never the right time, but I will tell her, I will as soon as I can. It's just, I didn't know if Len wanted to go public about us, and I knew I had to put some security in place for my sister if we decided that. I know it's fucked up and I know I'm going to get an earful of this from Len. But in short, I'm not proud of the man I've been and honestly, sometimes I think my sister would be better off without me in her life."

James sighed, "That's not true. She obviously loves you. When was the last time you saw her?"

"Two years ago," Jasper admitted, "She lives in Montana. I was in Las Vegas. She's studying at this boarding school institute for kid geniuses. I just want her to have better options in life than I had, I nearly failed high school and my parents wouldn't let me go to college. Now she gets to do whatever she wants."

"And what if she wanted to move to England?" James asked.

"She wouldn't," Jasper replied hastily.

"Are you saying that because you know she wouldn't," James replied, "Or because you're afraid?"

Jasper sighed, holding back tears, "No, she's a smart kid. I mean she had to be to survive our parents' lifestyle for those first few years. I did what I could, but she still had to grow up really fast. She'd be able to manage palace life, even manage if Eleanor and I went public, Em's not shy and she's diplomatic- don't know who she gets that from, I certainly never taught her that. It's just me… you know… I don't want to hold her back."

James nodded understandingly, "You won't. In fact, I've always felt we could use an intelligence department on site."

"You mean?" Jasper asked excitedly.

"I mean you Frosts are getting a reputation for being the best at security," James said, "It seems no matter what you do, you can't put a foot wrong. Your CV must read like a royal ping-pong, what was it the Princess, then the Queen, then Prince Liam, now King Robert, and probably Prince Liam again. Now I know where I've been going wrong for years."

Jasper smiled, "I just hope we can keep Em safe. If this all goes wrong…"

"Relax," James told him, "Em's done an amazing job of this. She'll be safe."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

It was just after ten when Eleanor arrived back at the palace and she was less than happy when Robert greeted her at the palace entrance. She quickly sent Rosie off with Sarah Alice as Eleanor tried to summon all of the strength she had left to face her brother.

She was scared. And she had never before been scared of Robert, but right then she was terrified. She just wanted Jasper or Liam to be there. But she knew they both had places to be and work to do.

So it looked like she was going to be stuck around Robert all day.

"Len," Robert said hugging his sister, "It's going to be all ok."

She could do this, she could do this, Eleanor reminded herself, as she felt disgusted by him hugging her, she wouldn't let Jasper or James get caught. Soon it would all be over.

She'd let Robert believe that her tears were because she'd been hurt by the reporters and not because she'd been hurt by him.

"Look, there's no reason to get worked up about all of this," Robert said as he walked with her, an arm around her shoulders, "Tomorrow is the coronation and Mum and I have been working all morning to do damage control. Of course, James and Jasper have been doing everything to try to figure out who's behind this, but whoever this is, they must a genius, James had been trained decoding encryptions for over twenty years and he couldn't figure it all out. Not that you need to worry about that, of course."

Eleanor sniffed, "So we're going to be ok?"

"Yes," Robert said with a smile, "Yes we are. And I know just the thing that will be good for you today. Mum said that she needs some advice on the final touches for the coronation after-party and I said I knew just the person for the job, that is, if you're not too tired. I know you had an early wake up call today."

Eleanor yawned, maybe this would be her escape plan.

"Yeah, you never were a morning person," Robert said with a grin, "Let's go see Mum and then you can sleep for a while, ok?"

Eleanor nodded, feeling glad that she'd be able to escape Robert for a little while. Maybe even see Jasper…

Eleanor followed Robert into the red state room where their mother was waiting.

"Eleanor," the Queen said hugging her daughter, "I'm glad you're back. Now don't you worry, Jasper and Mr Hill have been amazing and I'm handling Crenshaw. He might need to borrow you for a quick interview, that is if you're feeling up to it. Eleanor, dear, you look a little pale."

Eleanor looked at her mother who shared a quick understanding glance with her, "Yeah, I don't feel so great."

"Go get some rest," Robert told his sister, "Then later we need to talk about Jasper."

"Jasper?" Eleanor asked Robert.

"Yes," Robert said, "The git told me he proposed to you. Naturally of course I told him to get stuffed. I've seen how you two have been recently- now is not the right time- and I'm pretty sure you two aren't on speaking terms anyway."

"Yeah, something like that," Eleanor said with a sad smile.

Robert smiled, "Don't worry about him. He'll be very busy from now on, he won't trouble you anymore."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

Jasper was just beginning to wake up when he heard a knock at his door.

He sat up panicked.

James. Robert. Liam. Maybe Eleanor.

No, it was far more likely that it was James.

He glanced at the clock- eleven-thirty.

Soon that final piece would be sent.

 _I'm sorry, Eleanor,_ Jasper thought to himself, I _'m so sorry. I was hoping we wouldn't need that piece of evidence to be sent out._

Moments later the door opened.

Only one person would enter without waiting for a reply…

"Eleanor," Jasper said with a smile as he saw her standing in the doorway.

She looked shaky and tired as she walked towards him and sat on the bed next to him.

"Jasper," Eleanor said, "I…"

"It's all going to be ok, Len," Jasper said, taking her hand in his, feeling glad when she didn't flinch or move away.

"No, Jasper," Eleanor said, "It isn't. Robert should have been arrested by now. But he's still up there walking around like everything's going to be ok. Someone in MI6 is working for him, I know, I just know it."

"That doesn't matter," Jasper said, "If he has friends there I mean. James has more friends, in the highest positions. Eventually they'll figure out that they can't get away with ignoring any of this, future King or not."

"But you're still safe?" Eleanor asked, "No one suspects you?"

"Yeah, I'm safe," Jasper said, as Eleanor let out a relieved sigh, "Len, I need to tell you something, something I should have told you at least a year ago, but that it never really was the right time to tell you about. You see, it's not just James and I that have been working on this. I…er… I have a sister… she's thirteen… her name's Emily… she's kind of like Sarah Alice but she's also a genius…"

"Wait? You have a sister, and you've only told me this now?" Eleanor asked exasperated, "Shit, Jasper!"

"I know," Jasper said, "But in truth I was kind of pushing myself away from her for a long time because I wanted her to disown me. She's a good kid. Better than I'll ever be anyway…"

"Hey!" Eleanor snapped, "I'm just glad you told me now. So Emily's been helping you, helping you how? And what on earth made you think of involving your little sister?"

Jasper sighed, "Emily's a genius. She's got an IQ of 146, when she was taken into care at three, they knew immediately that she was different from everyone else, so they sent her to this elite boarding school in Montana. She's top of her class there, and she's especially good at computer science. She created the codes for the false trails. Basically she created these codes saying that the informant is living in several places all across the world and James and I are inputting our coding to try to crack the system, which we do eventually, sort of, only in activates the next false lead and sends a load of files to MI6 in the process."

"And she's thirteen," Eleanor said, "Shit!"

"I know, I know," Jasper said, "She's also just been offered a job by James as a royal intelligence officer."

"I think most kids hope their first job will be a paper round," Eleanor said, "Not intelligence."

Jasper smiled.

"Jasper, I need to talk to you about some things too," Eleanor said, "Firstly I need to apologise. I should have told you that I suffer from panic attacks. I thought I was getting over them. I mean I was, after the King's cup, when we were together, they completely went away. It wasn't fair to not tell you. I must have scared the shit out of you."

"It's ok," Jasper said, "I know you didn't mention it because you didn't want to scare me, or because you thought you were getting over them."

Eleanor smiled, "And the other thing I need to say is yes."

"Yes?" Jasper asked.

Eleanor nodded, tears filling her eyes, "I don't care what Robert says about it. He'll be gone soon. Then Liam will give us his blessing, or Mum, and James can walk my down the aisle, and Emily and Sarah Alice and Rosie will be my bridesmaids. Liam can be your best man…"

"Wait?" Jasper asked, a grin spreading across his face, "You mean you're accepting my sort-of proposal."

"Yes," Eleanor said grinning, tears running down her face, "Yes, I am Jasper. We've been through so much shit, but we always find each other and make things right. I think that's the point. We can't do anything right except find our way back to each other. I mean we've been through it all, there isn't anything else that could test our relationship- I hope not. And still you're here fighting for me, and I want to be with you, Jasper. And I don't do things by half-measures."

Jasper smiled, "No you definitely don't."

Eleanor grinned, as Jasper pulled her into his arms, kissing the top of her head.

"I can't be around Robbie today," Eleanor said, as Jasper hugged her to his side, "I just can't."

"Well," Jasper said, "It was Robert who believed we left it on bad terms, I never said that. He just assumed that. All he knows for certain is that you passed out when I proposed to you. He thought it was because it was a stupid thing to ask after everything I've done."

"So," Eleanor said, "For all he knows, I could have passed out from a happy shock."

"Yes, that's my logic," Jasper said.

Eleanor smiled, "Which completely legitimise my being here."

"Like you need Robert's permission to be here," Jasper said, "You don't need anyone's permission to be here."

"So given we didn't leave things on bad terms…" Eleanor said with a smile as she gazed up at Jasper adorably, "And of course we are getting married. Maybe…"

"Of course," Jasper replied, "Whatever my princess wants."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK  
Liam was waiting for Jasper to call him to tell him what to do next when Robert walked into his room, without knocking.

Liam stood up looking his brother in the eye. It was 12:04.

"Ok, you little shit, this stops now," Robert said, approaching Liam, and grabbing his by the collar of his shirt, "I know you hate, I know you think you should be King. But this hurting Len. I never poisoned her, and how dare you steal my diaries to show to the press? This is despicable. I should have you tried for treason, but I'm going to be the better man here. So this is how it's going to go. You will get your sorry arse out there tommorrow and you will smile and you will tell everyone just how wonderful it is that I'm their new King. And you will kiss the ring and bow before me. And then after that, you're going to join the army. Understood?"

"No," Liam said, "I know the truth. I read those diaries. I know exactly what you meant when you said, 'I hate that I have to make her leave, but at least this will be a peaceful way to go. Her life is full of so much pain, as is mine. We both have to hide who we are, from the people that will never love us for who we truly are. I just want her to be free.'"

"You're a piece of shit!" Robert said, "I was on about trying to get Eleanor to go back to university, away from here. Get her to take art degree or something like that. To get her some piece and quiet and direction in her life."

Liam sighed, "I'm not a fool."

"No, you're not," Robert said, "So go and think about what you've done and then come see me when you feel like you can apologise. Do you seriously think I'd hurt Len or get Dad killed? Do you?"

"I wouldn't want to think you'd be capable of doing such a thing," Liam answered, "But in all fairness, anyone with a brain should be able to read between the lines to understand the truth."

"What does that mean?" Robert asked.

"What it means is that if that's all there is," Liam began, "Then anyone with a brain would be able to understand that the message by itself implies nothing except that you wanted Eleanor to go away somewhere and be happy."

"Well that isn't the only thing is," Robert said angrily, "And do you honestly believe that most people are able to read between the lines to see it for what it really is? You truly are a selfish jealous little boy, aren't you? Well, newsflash, King or not King, one day you're going to finally learn that you can't have everything you want and that you most certainly can't walk over others in your attempts to get where you want to be."

"Same for you," Liam said, "Same for you."


	6. Chapter 6

**The Coronation Day**

It was around ten in the morning when Eleanor finally woke up and began to make her way back to her own room.

She tentatively made her way along the corridors, hoping not to bump into Robert or her mother. The day before had been a disaster, and as much as she'd wanted to stay with Jasper all day, there was no way they were going to get away with it. So, she'd spent a few hours with her mother arranging the coronation after-party before being forced to pretend to be happy during their family dinner whilst Robert kept an ever watchful eye on her.

She'd bailed before dessert, insisting she wanted to get an early night and hoping Robert wouldn't come and check on her.

When she was almost back to her room she spotted Rosie smiling from where she was standing outside of her bedroom.

"Where you with-?" Rosie whispered.

Eleanor nodded.

"Did you tell him-?" Rosie asked.

Eleanor nodded again and her friend grinned exuberantly.

"But not a word until tonight, ok?" Eleanor whispered back, "Then I'll tell Liam and my mum."

Rosie smiled, "I'm sure they'll be fine with it. And I'm sure Liam will love the coronation after-party, I saw what you did. I just hope no one else noticed."

"Oh, they won't," Eleanor said, "Do you know how the investigation is going?"

Rosie nodded, "A whole load of files got leaked this morning and a man from MI6 came to speak to Robert. One of James's old colleagues- he's apparently known him for over twenty years, even dressed up as a clown at Sarah Alice's fourth birthday party."

"Definitely team us then?" Eleanor asked.

"Oh, yeah," Rosie replied, "James was there. He called straight after. His friend said that if any more files get leaked before the coronation then Robert will have to go to their office to answer to some questions."

"So they still aren't convinced?" Eleanor asked glumly.

"It's not that," Rosie replied, "Em, Jasper's sister, she put a serious level of encryption on them. They've only managed to access about a third of them."

"We have four hours until the coronation," Eleanor said, "Do you think it will be long enough?"

Rosie nodded, "It has to be. I mean shit's going to hit the fan anyway, so even if they arrest him during the coronation ceremony it will be fine."

Eleanor nodded, "So I guess there's nothing I can do except get ready."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

"You're late, very late," James said as Jasper walked into their office.

"I'm sorry," Jasper said, "It's just Eleanor took forever this morning."

James smiled, "I'm guessing she said yes to your proposal."

Jasper nodded, smiling, "Yeah, yes, she really did."

"Well," James said, "You'll have to stop grinning like that or Robert will realise you two are up to something. Just a few more hours Jasper and then we'll be in the clear."

Jasper nodded, "How is the process going?"

"Well over sixty files have been sent MI6," James replied, "How many were there, seventy-three? Well they've managed to solve the encryption on twenty-six of them. But none of the big ones yet."

"Maybe I should go over there," Jasper said.

"Are you sure?" James asked, "You don't want to risk incriminating yourself."

Jasper nodded, "No. I know how my sister did. She left clues for me. Obscure clues, things only a Frost kid would know."

James smiled, "Well as long as it's nothing too obvious then it will fine. Go, Jasper, save the day for all of us."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

"Now that's a real princess dress," Sara Alice said as she ran into her friend's room, wearing her own blue dress covered in white stars. She wore a small tiara but it was nothing compared to Eleanor's, "You look like Cinderella."

Eleanor smiled, "Thank you. And you look lovely too."

Sarah Alice grinned, "I'm sure Jasper Caterpillar will be here soon. Daddy said he has to go and save the world for a few hours and then he'll be back."

Eleanor nodded, but inside she was filled with worry. What was Jasper up to? She just hoped he was being safe.

"Leni, is everything ok?" Sarah Alice asked worriedly.

Eleanor nodded smiling, "Of course it is."

"I saw one of Daddy's old friends visiting Robert this morning," Sarah Alice admitted, "He didn't look too happy."

"Sarah Alice," Eleanor began, "I need you to keep a secret for me, and it's going to be a very important secret, just like the story book, ok?"

The little girl nodded, "Yes, of course I'll keep your secret."

"Robert did a lot of very very nasty things," Eleanor explained to the young girl, "And now he's got to go away for a while. So it's unlikely he'll become King today."

"Then who will be King?" Sarah Alice asked, "Jasper?"

Eleanor laughed, "No, no. My brother Liam, he'll become King."

Sarah Alice nodded, "Ok, but not a word to anyone about Liam becoming King?"

"Exactly," Eleanor said, "And I'll make sure you get the first slice of the coronation cake."

Sarah Alice grinned, "You don't need to bribe me, I'd do it anyway. Because if Jasper's off saving the world then it's probably got some to do with Robert and well superheroes always do the right thing and help people, so why on earth would I want to stop him?"

"Exactly," Eleanor said, "And thank you. Now, we've got a few minutes until the car will be here. Why don't I read you the story book again?"

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

It was just gone one when Jasper arrived at Westminster Abbey and he was feeling more than pleased with himself. He'd just managed to unlock another five files- and this time two had been the big ones. MI6 was reviewing the information right at that moment and he knew without a doubt that Robert would be arrested within a few minutes of that information being received.

Trust his sister to set multiple layers of passwords all corresponding to Jasper and her's favourite TV children's TV episodes.

"Where the hell have you been?" Robert asked, straightening out the creases in his uniform.

"Didn't James tell you?" Jasper said, "I've been up at MI6 for the past two hours."

Robert sighed, "Well I needed you here."

"In all fairness, your majesty," Jasper answered, "You were at the palace all palace is highly guarded. The real threat to your reign right now is from whoever was behind this slander campaign."

Robert nodded, "Yes, you're right, Jasper. Thank you. I hope you're making progress."

"Yes, we made a lot of good progress," Jasper replied.

"Any location?" Robert asked.

"No, not for definite," Jasper replied, trying to hold back a smile, "I'm pretty sure our threat doesn't live in Antarctica."

"Fuck sake!" Robert exclaimed, "Well I trust you, Jasper. Ah, Eleanor, looking splendid as always?"

"Oh this old thing," Eleanor replied, trying avoid Jasper's admiring gaze, "It's nothing really."

"It's not nothing it's a Cinderella dress," Sarah Alice corrected her, "And Jasper seems to love it."

Eleanor and Jasper shared an awkward glance.

"Come on, Sarah Alice, let's go find your father," Eleanor said, quickly walking away.

"Well that was subtle," Robert said.

"I…er…," Jasper said, allowing himself to blush, "I couldn't help myself."

"One day," Robert said with a smile spotting Kathryn in the crowd by the entrance door, "One day you'll finally get the hang of it."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

No one had spotted John Stewart entering the abbey. No one had spotted him creeping up higher and higher above the main hall.

Now they were all assembled, now the cameras were rolling.

He felt excitement and vengeance bubbling into veins.

He was no Dominique Jr.

And today he would get vengeance for his aunt and uncle's deaths.

He reached into his coat pocket just as Robert walked towards the throne and sat down on it. His mother, sister and brother standing by his side. His security detail just a few metres away.

But still a good few metres.

Yes, this was going to work out perfectly.

He rested his arms against the edge of the walkway barrier to steady them.

Then he pulled the trigger.

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

Jasper heard the boom of a gun firing and had only seconds to throw himself in front of the royal family. He was aware of James and Rosie trying to do the same, but they were both too far away. He could see the man standing up in the rafters, a gun in his hand and Jasper knew full well that the bullet was going to meet it's target.

Or if it didn't, it was still going to meet a target.

He launched himself in front of Eleanor and Robert and felt the whoosh of air as the bullet missed him by inches.

 _Damn it!_

Jasper quickly picked himself up. There were screams from everywhere and he was shaken by the commotion. He saw everyone rush towards the back door and tried to keep an eye on the criminal.

There was no way he was going to get away with this.

"Jasper!" he heard a voice call out, "Jasper!"

Jasper turned around to see a panicked looking James and next to him a shaken looking Robert, who appeared to be unharmed.

He noticed the Queen standing behind them holding a scared and crying Sarah Alice.

"Liam!" Jasper yelled out, "El…Eleanor!"

Jasper lowered his gaze.

He almost fainted.

Liam held Eleanor in his arms as she gazed up, half-aware, towards the ceiling. She had clearly been shot badly and blood was beginning to stain her dress.

Jasper raced towards her pulling her into his arms, "Eleanor, it's going to be ok. Len, it's going to be ok."

"Jasper," Eleanor said weakly, trying to focus on him, "My Jasper."

"Len, hold on," Jasper said, tears forming in his eyes, "Len, I love you so much, you don't go anywhere, ok? You understand that."

Eleanor smiled, "I love you too, Jasper."

Then her eyes closed.


	7. Chapter 7

**One week later**

The blonde haired girl wandered through the airport like she owned the place, and although she didn't own the place, she had a feeling that very soon, she might in part, at least, own it, or rather her brother would.

Everything here was weird to here. She had never been in Europe before, the closest she'd gotten to Rome was Rome, Georgia. The currency here confused her and she knew she stood out with her southern American accent. She'd even stood out at school, where most of her fellow classmates had a very slight accent at best.

It was her brother's fault of course, she thought with a smile, as most things were. He was the one who had always stolen extra cookies and blamed her (although he'd given her more than her fair share admittedly), he was the one had let her stay up well past her bedtime, he was the one who had taken her to little kids theme parks when their parents had insisted on them staying at home to keep a low profile.

He had never told her not to drop her gs at the end of words, he never cared about healthy dinners, he never cared about bed time routines.

But still Jasper Frost was the best big brother in the world.

And now he and she were getting awards for uncovering Robert's dark secrets.

For Emily the reward had been the challenge of the task. That was enough for her, simply being able to have a project to work on that was bigger and better than school work. As much as she was happy to receive the award, there was a part of her that nagged her and told her that she was a Frost, and that Frost's didn't get handed anything, apart from jail sentences if they were unlucky.

She was just walking out of the Boots store when she noticed her brother standing next to the exit. He looked tired and miserable and Emily ran straight towards him, hugging him. She knew she was running late and hated the idea of making him worried.

After all, he still had so much on his mind. After the events of the coronation everything at the palace had been cancelled, Robert had been arrested and Eleanor rushed to hospital. Where she had stayed for the whole week, not waking up once.

Emily could still remember that first phone call. The one when Jasper called her up in tears, and told her everything. Everything about their father selling him out to the journalist, then him trading stories, and then everything with Boon, and of course the assassination attempt at the coronation.

Which as it turned out had been arranged by Robert.

Liam was the one who was supposed to have been hit. Robert had thought it was Liam who had leaked the files.

But the gun man had a shit aim and he'd hit Eleanor instead.

"Hey!" Emily said, "I missed you."

Jasper smiled, "I missed you too, Em. I'm sorry I didn't visit before leaving for the UK."

"Don't worry," Emily said, "I knew you were in a bad place back then, and with Mandy. I'm glad you dumped her, Eleanor's so much prettier and nicer."

Jasper smiled, and then grew sad.

"Look," Emily said, "If everything you told me about Len is true then she's going to get through this. She's a fighter, Jasper. Remember when you told me about that Russian dude-the oil fields guy- and how Eleanor fought him even though he had a knife. Yeah, she sounds really strong and feisty to me. She's going to be ok, Jasper, she really is."

Jasper smiled hugging his sister, "I really hope she will be. I'm sorry, being all miserable like this, when it's the first time I've seen you in two years."

"Jasper, you've always been the sappy one," Emily replied, "You were the one who cried at Bambi and the Lion King."

"No, I didn't," Jasper argued, "And you wouldn't remember anyway?"

"Oh, I do," Emily replied with a smile, "And you told me all about the letter writing too. In fact you asked me for ideas, well before, you got James to write the letter for you."

"Yeah, you were no help to me with that," Jasper replied with a small smile.

"Of course I wasn't going to tell you what to write," Emily said, "That would just be so weird. I mean, Eleanor's your fiancée. It wouldn't be appropriate."

Jasper nodded, "I guess not."

"Well, hopefully this will make you cheer up a little," Emily said, passing the bag to him, "Another thing I do remember. Our Saturday dinner tradition, BBQ pulled pork sandwiches."

"Mom always thought I couldn't cook," Jasper replied, "And Dad always worried that I'd burn everything and the cops would come round to investigate."

Emily smiled, "I'm glad you got out of there. I still miss them though."

Jasper nodded, "I miss Mom. Dad can go to hell after what he did to Eleanor and I."

Emily shrugged, "I know they were crap parents, Jasper, but I think Mom did a lot of things just because Dad told her to."

Jasper shrugged, "Maybe. I don't know. I'll have to think about everything. Now come on, I don't want to be late for Liam's tea party thingy."

"Tea party?" Emily asked, "A tea party, with the future King, at the palace?"

"Yeah, well it's more of a coronation organising do," Jasper explained, "There won't be much organising though, not until Len wakes up. Liam's insisting on her taking charge, everything's on hold for the moment. I just get to watch Liam fail at trying to win back Willow."

Emily smiled, "Well he isn't an ex-con-man from Las Vegas, so I'd say he's got a good chance."

Jasper raised his eyebrows at his sister, "Did you really just go there?"

"Oh shut up, Jasper," Emily replied, "Now come on, if all the chocolate cake is gone by the time we arrive, you'll be in big trouble."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

Sarah Alice was getting tired of playing hide and seek with Rosie.

The last week had been particularly difficult for her. Whilst the Queen had been quick to cover her face and take her away from the scene, the sound of the bullet flying through the air still filled her dreams and she'd seen the ambulance taking Eleanor away.

Everyone was sad too, Jasper Caterpillar, Rosie, her Daddy, Liam.

The palace was so quiet.

So, so quiet that Sarah Alice was afraid to make a noise sometimes because it might upset everyone even more.

Her father had tried getting her to go to school but she had refused, she just wanted to stay at the palace. At least with Rosie she'd be safe, whereas at school, anything could happen.

Her father had tried to get someone to talk to her, to explain everything, but as far as Sarah Alice was concerned only her Daddy or Jasper could explain any of this to her, they knew everything, And if they couldn't yet, then that was ok, she could wait.

"The tea party's in fifteen minutes," Rosie told her, "Come on let's play one more game and then I'll take you there."

"It's not right," Sarah Alice complained, "It's Leni's job to design things, not theirs."

"She will design the coronation events, and dresses and everything," Rosie reassured the little girl, "But she had to get better first."

Sarah Alice stared at the floor, "I just hope it won't be like with my Mummy and Daddy."

Rosie frowned at her, "What do you mean?"

Sarah Alice sighed, "Well my Daddy, he's actually my Uncle James, but I call him Daddy anyway, because I was only a baby when my Mummy and Daddy went to heaven."

Rosie hugged the little girl tightly, "No, no, Eleanor's staying right here, I promise she's staying right here."

"Good," Sarah Alice said, "Because she's already an angel, she doesn't need to go to heaven to become one."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

Liam sat at his desk in the red state room, reviewing newspaper articles from the non-coronation. He sighed, who knew what might have happened if MI6 had walked through the doors two minutes earlier, maybe Eleanor would have been safe.

His eyes were blurry with tears as he read the articles and looked at the pictures on his sister in his and then Jasper's arms. The whole country was in shock. Liam had declared a national day off and events at the palace had been called off until the afternoon garden party. Even then it wasn't an official palace event, it was just him, Willow, Maddon, Ashock, Holden and Ivan.

And as much as he'd missed them in the past few weeks he still didn't really feel up to being all sociable.

Not whilst his sister was still asleep, albeit in a stable, and not critical, condition.

It reminded him too much of what had happened to his father.

He couldn't bare the idea of losing Len too.

Even losing Robert had been hard on him, and they hadn't exactly been close since he came back from the dead.

Now, Robert had been sentenced to twenty-five years in prison, and stripped of all titles.

And Liam would be King, just liked he'd planned to be.

But he didn't want to be King.

He'd give up everything to save Eleanor.

In fact he almost had, but she wouldn't want him to put his life on hold for her. In fact, she'd make him pay if he did that.

So instead he tried to stay strong for her.

And whenever Crenshaw or some other journalist said something inappropriate or insensitive, he maintained self-control.

Because that's what his father and Leni would want him to do.

Liam watched as Sebastian walked into the room, looking more than disheartened. Liam had forgotten that he'd stayed on for the coronation. He and Eleanor were supposed to be travelling a good few days ago. He hadn't even been aware of Eleanor's plans to stay.

"They're all ready," Sebastian said gently, "I told them you needed a few minutes."

"Thanks," Liam replied.

"She'll be ok," Sebastian answered, "I know she will. I've told my family that the trip is off. I know Eleanor needs to stay here with her family, and Jasper of course."

Liam smiled, "Thank you, it means a lot."

"Well," Sebastian said, handing the King-to-be a file, "I know Sarah Alice's birthday party has been postponed, but I've arranged a few things for when that's happening. And I thought, well, I know they will probably have their own plans but, you know how Len likes designing things…"

"Grafton Regis Manor," Liam said.

"I thought it might be a nice country home for Jasper and Eleanor," Sebastian said, "And I know how Eleanor has a love of the War of the Roses history."

"Yes, it was the Woodville home," Liam recalled, "I don't think we've had an Earl or Baron Rivers in quite a while."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking too," Sebastian said, "I know I hoped it would be more, but I'm glad Eleanor's my friend, and I'm happy that her and Jasper finally got things sorted out."

Liam nodded smiling, "Yes, Grafton Regis sounds like a great idea. I'm sure she'll like that. And Jasper could use a title too."

Sebastian smiled, "Cool. Now there's only one more thing to sort out…"

Ivan entered the red state room dramatically, "This is becoming a nightmare, Liam! Holden just doesn't understand, he thinks one glass of Smirnoff ice is the best option, but I think it should be a whole bottle of Don Perrignon."

"What on earth for?" Liam asked frowning.

"Toasting your sister of course," Ivan replied, "What did you seriously think we were going to leave her out of today's event? Of course not. You remember what you told us, about how you toasted your father, well we wanted to do a toast that represented everything that Eleanor stands for."

"Excessive binge drinking of expensive wines?" Liam concluded, shaking his head.

"Precisely," Ivan said, "Oh, don't give me that look. Come on, Liam, Len wouldn't want you to be miserable."

Liam nodded, "I know, I know."

"Well come on then," Ivan nagged.

Liam began to walk towards the door, then stopped noticing Jasper.

"I'll catch you up."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

Jasper paused, waiting for Liam to join him. He could barely keep it together, the day had been so long and he wanted nothing more than to race to Eleanor's side, hoping that tonight might be the night when she woke up.

"Has there been any change?" Jasper asked the young King.

Liam shook his head, "Not really. They took her off the ventilator earlier, and she's fine breathing on her own. But she still hasn't woken up."

"I'm going there now," Jasper said, "I just cleared it with James."

"Ok," Liam said, "I'll join you as soon as I can."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

It had been a good hour and a half since he'd returned to the hospital and Jasper will still sat next to Eleanor, holding her hand and watching her sleep. She didn't look nearly as pale as before, and that made Jasper feel slightly happier but she still hadn't woken up and that thought always hung in his mind.

He felt guilty about leaving Em before he got a chance to really catch up with her but she had insisted and Jasper had reluctantly agreed.

He knew when he saw Em run off with Sarah Alice that they had made the right choice, that Emily moving to England would be a good decision for everyone. Sarah Alice had smiled for the first time in days and Jasper knew it was about time that she finally had a friend and the palace who was roughly her own age.

"Will you being staying the night again, Mr Frost?" one of the nurses asked, as she came in to check on the Princess.

Jasper bit his lip before nodding, "Thank you."

The nurse smiled, "Don't worry, she's doing very well. They say she should wake up any time now."

Jasper nodded blinking back tears.

"Your majesty," the nurse said, bowing as Liam walked through the door, "I was just telling Mr Frost here that the Princess is doing very well."

Liam smiled, taking the seat opposite Jasper's, "Thank you."

Jasper and Liam waited in silence as the nurse left, not knowing what to say. Jasper tangled his fingers between Eleanor's, smiling as he saw the sparkly pink glitter nail polish. She was going to kill him and Sarah Alice for that.

"Len, please wake up," Liam said, "I know it's selfish of me to say, but I really need your help, I have no idea how to do this whole King thing without you. I know when we were younger that I used to pull your braids and told everyone that you had a massive crush on Holden, and I'm really sorry for that, but we're a team, Len. Right from the first day, we were a team. I…I can't lose you."

Jasper looked over at Liam, who was trying to blink away tears.

"I'm right here too, Len," Jasper told her, "Just like I promised I always would be. And I got you something."

Liam frowned as Jasper reached into his coat pocket, and pulled out a small box.

"It's about time I did something right," Jasper said holding back tears as his placed the ring on Eleanor's finger.

"Jasper," Liam said.

"It should have been me, Liam," Jasper replied, "I tried to… but I just didn't get there in time. It should have been me."

"Shit, Jasper!" Liam said, "What would Len say if she heard you speaking like that? It shouldn't have been either of you! It shouldn't have happened at all."

Jasper fought to hold back tears, "I can't… she always gets hurt on my watch… you know, that right?"

Liam sighed, "Yes, but you always make it right. That's what matters."

Jasper blinked, trying to stop tears from falling, but ultimately failed, he turned his face away from Eleanor.

And felt her hand move in his.

Jasper immediately brushed his tears away, and looked back to see Eleanor looking up at him, smiling.

Jasper immediately grinned, "You're awake."

Eleanor nodded.

Liam grinned, "Hi, Len."

Eleanor smiled at her brother.

"You promised that they'd never get rid of us," Eleanor began, "And you promised to be with me for the rest of time. I'm going to promise those too."

Jasper and Liam hugged her awkwardly, being carefully not to touch her injured stomach.

"You just rest, Len," Liam said, "We'll be ok."

Eleanor smiled, "How long was I asleep?"

"A week," Jasper said.

"And Sarah Alice's party?" Eleanor asked, "I wasn't there for her birthday."

"Don't worry about that," Liam replied, "We're rescheduling the party. Sarah Alice didn't want a party until you're better."

Eleanor smiled, blinking away tears, "Well I'm going to make sure it's a really awesome party for her, I promise."

BREAK_BREAK_BREAK_BREAK

 **Two weeks later**

"I never thought it was a British royal family tradition to blind people with Hermes scarves," Sarah Alice said as Emily helped her walk closer and closer to the red state room.

"It's not," Emily replied, "We're nearly there."

Emily stopped walking and so did Sarah Alice. Then suddenly the older girl removed the scarf.

"SURPRISE!"

The red state room had been redecorated with a mermaid and princess themed party. Pictures of mermaids and Disney princesses decorated the room, and a table full of presents stood in one corner next to a table full of various types of snacks.

Sarah Alice looked around the room in shock, smiling as she noticed her father, and then Jasper, then Rosie, then the Queen and Liam and then…

"Eleanor!" Sarah Alice yelled running towards the Princess.

Eleanor was dressed glamorously of course, with her hair and make-up perfect, and her dress clearly styled after Belle's from Beauty and the Beast.

There was no sign of what had happened to her weeks before. She looked healthy and happy, as Jasper stood next to her with an arm around her waist.

"I love it!" Sarah Alice exclaimed, grinning exuberantly, "It's perfect."

"What do you want to do first little elf?" Jasper asked her.

"Dancing," Sarah Alice said grinning.

"What? Seriously?" Eleanor asked her, before adding quietly to Jasper, "Liam and I used to go straight for the food when we were her age."

Sarah Alice nodded, "Yes, you two need to dance."

Eleanor and Jasper share a smile.

"Anything for the birthday girl," Jasper said as he and Eleanor walked out towards the dance floor.

Rosie pressed the play button on the stereo and the music blast out.

Jasper held Eleanor delicately in his arms.

"Do you remember the first time we danced together?" Jasper asked.

"Vaguely," Eleanor replied, "I imagine I was pretty wasted."

"Yeah, you were," Jasper said, "And I turned you down that night. You wanted to be romantic with me and I said no."

Eleanor pondered that, "How times have changed."

"Exactly," Jasper replied, "I'm never going to let you go again. I can't live without you, Eleanor."

"Maybe you should try writing that down some time," Eleanor replied.

"Oh don't worry, Princess," Jasper replied, "I already did."

Jasper and Eleanor gazed out across the dance floor and spotted Sarah Alice dancing with her friend, Henry.

"He's here new boyfriend," Jasper explained as Eleanor smiled.

Eleanor raised her eyebrows, "Oh, is he now?"

Jasper nodded, "Don't worry, we'll have the talk soon… no, ew, not that kind of talk, Len."

Len laughed.

"No, I mean the 'if he hurts her I'll kill him talk'," Jasper replied.

"They're eight," Jasper replied, "Well Sarah Alice is eight, I think he might be seven."

Eleanor smiled, "Well so long as everyone gets their happy endings."

Jasper glanced out across the dance floor. Liam and Willow were doing some kind of awkward dance, and arguing over who should be leading, Helena was dancing with Spencer and it was clear to anyone with eyes that they deeply cared for each other, Rosie had even joined in the dancing with one of her army friends. And of course, James was running around trying to take pictures of everyone.

"Yeah," Jasper replied, before kissing Eleanor, "I think everyone has found their happy ending now."

THE END

Thanks for all of the reviews.

So happy we're getting a season four!


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